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The Looking Glass House

Tuesday, 23 February 2016

Hello everyone,

At the moment I am up to my eyes in revision, it’s all I think about, but this then makes me struggle to get to sleep. Whenever I have trouble switching off I like to read for 30 minutes or half an hour in bed. This week I read a book which I have been excited about reading for quite some time, The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait is a relatively new release and was much anticipated.

For 150 years the world has been obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and all things Alice and Lewis Carroll. I think people often forget that Alice was a real little girl and that Lewis Carroll was a real grown man. In those days it wasn’t thought to be unusual for an adult male to spend time with young girls, girls would even become engaged as young as 14. Almost as soon as they could walk, their mothers would be planning their life, who could court them, who could not and who could eventually espouse their beloved daughters.

Alice Liddell was just 4 years old when she first met Charles Dodgson, a maths lecturer in Oxford where her father was the Dean. Charles Dodgson was a close friend of the family for many many years before their sudden split. There has long been rumours surrounding this…was he having an affair with Mrs.Liddell? Was he courting her eldest daughter Lorina? Or, and this seems to be the most likely, was he simply too fond of 11 year old Alice?

It certainly seems that Alice made a lasting impression on him, he wrote her countless letters, told her stories, took her photograph and even wrote two full books about her, which he later published under his well known nom de plume Lewis Carroll. Dodgson had many child-friends as he liked to call them and would nowadays be thought of as very questionable in his attitude towards children, it seems strange that his books became so well loved by the world, considering their dubious origin.

Over the years countless writers have speculated about what really happened! Using family stories, journals and letters Vanessa Tait, as Alice’s great granddaughter, has a better chance than most at getting to the truth. Her story is told from the point of view of Miss Prickett, known to the children as “Pricks”, who was the governess at the time. The main events, circumstances and the people were very real, but this view point is entirely new. Vanessa Tait simply filled out the story adding a bit of romance, intrigue and conflict in a similar way to Philipa Gregory. I guess you could almost call this historical fiction!

I loved this book from start to finish, I like the underlying sinister edge, it keeps you on your toes and really makes you feel every word. It highlights how an act carried out in innocence can so easily be misinterpreted. Was Dodgson acting inappropriately or was he simply a man who had been cruelly treated as a child and thus revelled in the wonders of childhood innocence that he had so sadly lacked? I can’t wait to see what Vanessa Tait writes next!

What do you guys think of the story behind Alice? Let me know in the comments below :-)

I did not know the back story of the book like this before and I never would have thought it was this interesting. Thanks for sharing I'm definitely going to try and get this book now especially as you enjoyed it so much too!x

So few people know about the story, but the history is there to look for! In North Wales there is a town called Llandudno and it has so many commemorative statues for Alice in Wonderland :-) The real Alice used to spend her holidays at there in the Liddell's second home. xoxo

I will definitely be checking this book out, it sounds really interesting! I didn't know the story behind Alice In Wonderland so that was really interesting to read about, thank you for all of your information!<3 Catherine

This was such a fascinating blogpost - actually one of the most interesting informative posts I have read in a long time. I had no idea about the backstory to Alice and Wonderland and am now contemplating if I should buy Tait's book for my kindle straight away, or wait to order it on paperback.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the post so much! Vanessa Tait has of course fictionalised the thoughts and opinions and the unravelling of the Liddell's friendship with Charles Dodgson, but her notes at the end on her own family history are incredibly interesting. I think you should buy it straight away, but I am biased! xoxo

I hope you enjoy this book then, I think historical fiction is one of the best genres! I love the way the authors have to really understand the customs and norms of the time to get inside their characters head's :-) xoxo

I'm happy that I stumbled upon your page, by way of a comment you left on another blog, because if I had not then I would be totally unaware this book exists. I love when stories take a deeper look at other, popularly loved, works and reframe them in a new way. This take on Alice In Wonderland, though, paints the story and the situation around it in a ... what word did you use... "sinister" way as it twists the events around and looks at them in a new light. I absolutely love that and, I'm being totally serious here, I think I'm going to download it on my kindle after I finish typing this.

I love books and I love reading. I know that there is a big debate as to whether real book lovers should own e-readers but I think the act of reading, in any form, is enough. Where do you stand on that?

This book is a relatively new release and was much anticipated, even if it was just by myself! I'd love to know what you thought of the book when you have finished it. I find the real story of Alice quite disturbing and it is rather fascinating how something could be considered the norm in Victorian times and yet be extremely disquieting in the current day. As you read the story from Miss Prickett's point of view it is not sinister or abnormal in the least and you almost become subsumed by her character and train of thought, but you can still feel the vibe of the author writing it from a modern day perspective. It is hard to ignore Mr.Dodgson's strange friendship with Alice!

I think that any form of reading is enough, though I love physical books, especially beautiful clothbound editions, I do own a Kindle and use it frequently for holidays and trips! Some people struggle with a book and find a heavy tome to be intimidating, that factor is removed with an e-book and could help people to read more on the go. Thank you for your comment, it is lovely to be made to think.